Tantalum: description Your user agent does not support the HTML5 Audio element.

Tantalum is a greyish silver, heavy, and very hard metal. When pure, it is ductile and can be drawn into fine wire, which can be used as a filament for evaporating metals such as aluminium. Tantalum is almost completely immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150°C, and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulphur trioxide. The element has a melting point exceeded only by tungsten and rhenium.

Small and large samples of tantalum wire like this, as well as foil, sheet, insulated wire, mesh and rod, can be purchased via their web catalogue from Advent Research Materials via their web catalogue.

Tantalum: compound properties

Tantalum: history

Tantalum was discovered by Anders Ekeberg in 1802 at Sweden. Origin of name: from the Greek word "Tantalos" meaning "father of Niobe" (Greek mythology, (tantalum is closely related to niobium in the periodic table).

Tantalum: isotopes

Isotope abundances of tantalum with the most intense signal set to 100%.

Tantalum has only two isotopes and one of them, Ta-180, has one of the lowest natural abundances of all naturally occurring isotopes (0.012%). Ta-180 has only been produced in minute quantities and is very expensive. Ta-181 can be used for the production of W-178 which decays to Ta-178. Ta-178 emits low energy gamma rays which can be used for imaging purposes.

Tantalum: isolation

Isolation: isolation of tantalum appears to be complicated. Tantalum minerals usually contain both niobium and tantalum. Since they are so similar chemically, it is difficult to separate them. Tantalum can be extracted from the ores by first fusing the ore with alkali, and then extracting the resultant mixture into hydrofluoric acid, HF. Current methodology involves the separation of tantalum from these acid solutions using a liquid-liquid extraction technique. In this process tantalum salts are extracted into the ketone MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone, 4-methyl pentan-2-one). The niobium remains in the HF solution.

After conversion to the oxide, metallic tantalum can be made by reduction with sodium or carbon. Electrolysis of molten fluorides is also used.